The Exiled
by BadVoodoo
Summary: Ten years after the fall of Voldemort 51 students disappear without a trace from the Hogwarts Express.  Auror Major Harry Potter is called upon to resolve the issue.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I am not the copyright holder of Stargate or Harry Potter.**

**A/N There are some mostly minor changes from canon; I assume that you're smart enough to pick up on them  
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Potter, the minister wants to see you, now," Auror Commandant Wilson Marsh ordered harshly.

Major Harry Potter slowly rose from his rack, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Checking the time on his watch, he noted it was 3:32 AM. With a flick of his ever present wand, he sprayed himself awake with a jet of icy water; a second flick he was completely dry and with a final jab, he was fully dressed in his Auror uniform and ready for his impromptu meeting.

After a quick Apparition from the Auror Academy to the Ministry, he soon found himself sitting down with Minister Cresswell.

"Major Potter, I'm sorry to call you in like this, but we have need of your services," the Minister, a normally chatty and affable fellow began more serious than Harry had ever seen him.

"Yes sir," Harry acknowledged.

"Do you know what day it is today, Mr. Potter?" Cresswell asked.

"Yes sir, September 2nd," Harry replied, confused at the question.

"You are, of course, correct, Mr. Potter," the Minister affirmed.

"Something happened to the Express or at Hogwarts sir," Harry stated, quickly connecting the dots.

"The Hogwarts Express arrived at Hogwarts with no issues; however, somewhere during the journey from London every single first year disappeared. Their possessions arrived indicating that at least 43 of the invited 51 first years boarded the train." Harry started at the number of missing children, a grim look crossing his face. "Shortly after Headmaster Flitwick informed me of the missing children, I was abducted from my office and given a ransom demand."

"I presume my team will be facilitating the transfer, or otherwise permanent resolution," Harry stated.

"Yes, in a manner of speaking. Risking the lives of that many children with a possible battle is out of the question. What they have asked for ransom is that your team takes command of an expedition on their behalf," the minister explained. "I do not have any details on the nature or length of the mission, but I'm afraid I must order you to comply."

"No sir, children or not, I'm not ordering my men to their certain death on the chance that the children may be returned," Harry protested.

"You will do your duty Potter," the minister spat. "Now," the man continued more calmly, "I was able compel them into taking an oath guaranteeing that they will return the children unharmed. Further, they have agreed that you and your team will not be harmed by their action or inaction. However, know that the oath does not extend to any dangers that you may be faced while completing their task."

Harry frowned as dozens of scenarios jumped into his mind about just how quickly things could go pear shaped. "You do realize that they could simply order me to kill you, expose the existence of magic to the Muggles, kill all the first born pureblood males or jump in a fucking volcano and try to swim to the other side!"

"Never the less, you will comply and you will be required to take an oath to complete the mission to the best of your abilities," the minister stated. "Now I'm not playing here Potter. I will call upon the oaths of your position, again, and force you to do this. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," Harry barked. "Am I dismissed sir? I need to brief my team; and I would like to give them time to say goodbye to their loved ones one last time, sir."

"You will assemble at Auror HQ at 5 PM tonight. You will give no details of your mission to your team; inform them that you have been assigned a very dangerous mission with a low probability of survival if you must, but no details." The minister deflated somewhat, "I'm not inhuman Potter; I'm not doing this to stay in office. I don't want to send anyone on a mission like this, but the lives of 51 children hang in the balance and it is down to you to save them." Harry nodded, slightly mollified. "Dismissed."

13 hours later

"So we're walking into a situation with no idea who or what we'll be facing, no idea how long we're going to be gone and presumably no way out," Lieutenant Neville Longbottom stated. "And we don't have a choice about it."

"That's pretty much what my reaction was when the Minister told me," Harry stated. "Now I don't like it and you don't like it and there's a good chance some or all of us aren't coming home from this, but 51 children are depending on us, so we suck it up and do our jobs."

"Just clarifying the situation, sir," Neville answered.

Ignoring the comment, Harry addressed the group, "since we don't know what kind of situation we're porting in to and we only have a dubiously worded oath protecting our safety, we're going it like it's a hot zone. George, Tonks, teams of four."

"Yes sir," the two Auror Captains answered, quickly organizing three separate fire teams.

"Susan, we're short a Captain. Macmillan recommended you be his replacement before he became a desk jockey, congrats. You've got squad three."

"Yes sir," Captain, formerly Lieutenant Susan Bones stated. "Sir, if I might point out, without Ernie, Malcolm and Owen, you don't have a squad, sir."

"I'm aware," Harry replied. "If this is whole thing is a set up, you guys will have a fighting chance after they pick me off."

"Pretty confident that they're after you, are you?" Gregory Goyle asked.

Harry stared at the Lieutenant without answer and shook his head.

"It could happen," the man protested.

One of the Aurors snorted in amusement.

"Fine," Greg conceded, "it's probably just another dark wizard looking to make a name for themselves by taking out the famous Harry Potter."

"So a standard situation where the Major gets us in impossible deep shit, we all almost die and then he does something amazing and impossible to save our asses at the last minute," Neville explained.

"That'll be enough," Harry said, interrupting the comedy routine. "Tonks."

"Portkeys are synced with yours sir, we're ready to go," Captain Tonks announced.

"Count it down," Harry ordered, wand out, eyes already scanning for threats.

"Three, two, one, Rock and Roll," the currently black haired Captain stated before activating the synchronized Portkeys sending the group of thirteen special operation Auror's into the howling void.

The moment the group landed, Harry quickly assessed their location. They were in the center of a large empty room with dull gray walls and an archway that held an odd closed doorway.

"Stay loose wands out, check for all forms of invisibility," Harry ordered when it seemed they were alone.

It took only a few seconds for Harry and each team to report that the room was completely. Just as they had done so, there was a flash of white light, and a group of wizards and witches appeared in the room opposite them.

"You," Harry roared before they'd even gotten their bearings, "you did this?" he demanded.

"What, Harry?" Hermione Granger began confused. Spotting the team of battle hardened Aurors, all with their wands out and trained on her, she frowned.

"I should have known it was you; I don't know anybody else who could pull it off," Harry said with a forced calm.

"Pull what off? What the bloody hell is going on," Ron Weasley demanded.

"That's what I'd like to know," Harry stated. "Now, what do you want from us?"

Stepping forward, Hermione held up her hands, "I don't think negotiations can be productive with one side holding wands on the other. For that matter, why did the ministry send Aurors?"

"The minister informed us that he had handled the negotiations. We are here to fulfill our part of the deal," Harry replied carefully.

"So it's come to this, Harry?" Hermione asked sadly. "I know we're not on good terms, but I never thought that..."

A third group suddenly arrived with a flash of white light unlike any Portkey Harry had seen before and cutting off whatever else the bushy haired woman was going to say.

"Team three," Harry snapped. Susan and her team immediately covered the new arrivals.

"What's going on?" Percy Weasley requested calmly, correctly sensing the uneasy atmosphere.

"That's what we're trying to figure out, brother-mine," George stated calmly, his wand never wavering.

"Might I suggest that everyone calm down and we talk about what's going on," Terry Boot requested from next to Hermione.

"Fair enough," Harry allowed. "Hermione, can I presume you speak for your group?" The witch nodded. Harry turned his head minutely, "Percy..."

"I will speak for the ministry group, Potter," Daphne Greengrass stated.

"At ease," Harry ordered, stepping forward and making a small show of stowing his own wand. The two witches quickly stepped forward, joining him in the center of the room.

Hermione suddenly drew her wand only to find herself staring down the tip of Harry's wand, shortly followed by Daphne drawing her own and Harry's team again targeting each group.

"I apologize, I was planning on conjuring three chairs, paper and a pen, and putting up a silencing charm," Hermione stated, keeping her wand pointed firmly at the ground.

"A little warning next time Granger," Daphne demanded, stowing her wand.

"No silencing spell, but otherwise, proceed," Harry conceded, again putting his wand away.

Hermione nodded before quickly completing her conjurations. Noting that neither Harry nor Daphne had relaxed in the slightest, she sighed and placed her wand on the ground, rolling it away. "We can hardly get to the bottom of things if we're constantly on the edge cursing each other."

"I'm still tempted to stun you all and question you," Harry stated stiffly. "If it weren't for the children and the oath, you'd all be dead right now."

"Perhaps you'd care to enlighten us what the blood hell you're talking about Potter," Daphne demanded.

Harry quickly explained what had happened and why his team was here and on edge.

"I can't believe you'd think me capable of something like that Harry," Hermione complained.

"It's the way they disappeared, I didn't consider you a suspect until I saw you here," Harry offered. "Why are you here?"

"Minister Cresswell invited us to negotiate the end of Researcher strike," Hermione stated. "I rather thought he'd sent us to be quietly executed when I saw you."

"I was in my office, working when there was a flash of light and I was suddenly here. No explanations, no stories, just there one second, here the next," Daphne offered. "I would assume that is true of everyone in my group."

"So, if none of us are responsible, who is?" Hermione asked.

"That's the question, isn't it?" An unfamiliar voice sounded throughout the room. "I had hoped that you would all just eliminate each other, seemed like a nice way to get around that pesky oath. Oh well, it's a moot point now."

"Who are you? Where are you? Where are the children?" Harry demanded, once again scanning the room for any invisible people.

"My name and location are unimportant; as all Muggles are to you people," the voice answered. "However, to answer your more important question, the children have all been returned to the Hogwarts grounds, unharmed as promised. We never had any intention of hurting them; they were simply a means to an end."

"And what end would that be," Hermione asked.

"To get rid of you all," the voice said as if it were obvious. "Now, as we cannot intentionally hurt you, we decided to send you away, never to return."

"And our task?" Harry asked.

"A ruse of the minister to get you to play along," the voice laughed.

"Let's go back to you being a Muggle and getting rid of us," Marcus Belby, a potions master and member of Hermione's group said. "Why do you want to get rid of us and why does a Muggle care in the first place?"

"It's quite simple; you represent the majority of most likely future leaders of Magical Britain. We have decided it would simply be too difficult to control you as we have controlled the previous generations," the voice sounded.

"So, what, you bring us all here and leave us to starve to death?" Ron demanded.

"If only it were so simple. You have no idea the resources we've expended to find a solution that will permanently rid us of your influence without breaking the oath the minister forced upon us," the voice replied.

"Are you just gloating, or do you have something useful to say?" Harry asked.

"A little of both." The voice admitted. "The famous Boy-Who-Lived and his unbeatable commandos, the so called smartest group of minds in the magical world and the next generation of magical leadership all beaten in one fell swoop with more effort put in to how to hide the metaphorical bodies than in actually getting rid of you all."

"Fine, you beat us. Now, tell us what you have to tell us so we can go about undoing it, come back and break you in half," Harry said in a bored tone.

"I do admire your bravado Major Potter, and had we put you anywhere on Earth, I'm quite certain that you would do exactly what you said you would do. That's why you are on your way to P3X-999." The voice stated. "For those of you who are unaware of what that means, that being all of you, it's a planet on the other side of the galaxy."

"Nice try, but interplanetary travel within our solar system is not possible. Claiming that travel to the other side of the galaxy is possible damages your very limited credibility." Hermione explained, "We're not so far gone in the Magical world to be unaware if such a development were to become possible. Expecting us to believe it further lessens your credibility."

"Don't take my word on it, look around," the door to the room suddenly slid open.

"Whoa, like Star Trek," 2nd Lieutenant Dennis Creevey exclaimed.

"Cast some spells, put a hole in the hull, kill yourselves, that'd make my day," the voice stated.

"How long is this journey supposed to take?" Harry asked as members of both Hermione and Daphne's groups began moving towards the door.

"18 days," the voice stated.

"Bloody hell," the loud exclamation of Ron Weasley rang through the ship.

"Shall we go see what's causing the commotion?" Daphne asked, standing up.

Reluctantly giving up on getting anything useful out of the voice, Harry followed Daphne out into the hall; to the left he could see several people crammed together in a smaller room, to the right was a dark hallway. "Teams 1 and 2 secure the rest of the ship, check in every 5 minutes, team 3, with me," Harry ordered, "Limit magical usage to the bare minimum for the time being, let's not take any chances," he called, deliberately letting his voice carry with the hope that the civilians might take a hint.

Turning left Harry entered the smaller room and stopped dead. There in front of him was the planet Earth, bright and thriving with life, a glittering jewel against the black background of space. It was awe inspiring.

"If you get the chance, look out a window," Harry intoned and with a flick sent over a dozen silver darts of light off to find his Aurors.

Centering his mind on the very much more real possibility that the voice was not lying, Harry began assessing the room he was in. It was obvious that this room was the bridge; the resemblance to what science fiction television predicted was remarkable.

"If I might request nobody touch anything, we don't want to depressurize the ship or start the auto destruct," Hermione requested from behind Harry obviously having come to the same conclusion as to the function of the room as he had.

"Major Potter," Daphne said drawing his attention from the now rapidly shrinking view of Earth, "I believe that once your Aurors have secured the ship, that we should have a private meeting about how to proceed from this juncture."

"I'm quite sure that I'll be included in that meeting as well," Hermione insisted.

Harry nodded, not particularly wanting to meet with the two headstrong witches. A moment later a silver dart of light arrived and Tonks voice sounded in his head.

"The ship is deserted as far as we can tell. The main deck contains whatever room was at the end of the hall, the room we were transported in to, a large galley and mess, and four sleeping quarters each with bunks for six. At the end of the hall there's a lift to the upper deck. There are three larger living spaces up here, each designed for a single individual, and each bigger than any of the quarters on the main deck. There's a smaller galley and mess as well and an observation deck. The lighting, doors and lift all appear to be activated by proximity; coming on when we arrived and turning off shortly after we moved on. There were a total of four locked doors, three on the main deck and one on the upper deck. With your order not to use magic, we refrained from forcing them for the time being. I posted a guard at each door until they receive further orders." Tonks report finished.

"Hermione, Daphne, my team finished sweeping the ship," Harry advised. "Perhaps we should head to the observation deck for our meeting." Daphne scowled at Hermione's inclusion, but nodded. "Susan, please make sure none of our friends press any buttons."

"Yes sir," the blond Auror agreed, "Alright you lot, watch your hands," she called out moving further into the room.

"I'm not really comfortable with you giving orders like that," Hermione complained as the three walked down the hallway towards the lift.

"I'm not comfortable with leaving Ron Weasley in a room with a bunch of shiny buttons that could potentially kill us all," Harry said, "even with supervision," he added causing the brunette to huff indignantly.

"Now, there are four doors that are inaccessible at the moment. I think our first order of business should be to decide if we're going to open them or not," Harry stated.

"I think our first order of business should be to go back to Earth before we get too far away," Daphne disagreed.

"Can you fly the ship?" Hermione demanded, "Because I doubt anybody else has a clue."

"You've lived in the magical world for 15 years and you still think like a Muggle," Daphne complained.

"No, I just understand the reality of our situation. Do you have any idea how far away from Earth we are already? Not to mention the speed we're traveling at?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"Distance only matters if you're talking about apparition, and we're far beyond even my range," Harry interrupted. "As to a Portkey, the Arithmancy for targeting a port at this distance is astronomically difficult," he smiled slightly at his pun, "and can take months to properly calculate. Adding in velocity, and I just don't know. I think we're better off to wait until we get where we're going before we attempt anything."

"What about the power requirements?" Daphne asked interestedly.

"Why are you asking him," Hermione questioned.

"Because he was the first wizard to successfully do an interplanetary jump," Daphne replied.

"What? When did this happen? Why wasn't it announced?" Hermione babbled excitedly.

"The power requirements are steep; Astoria can pull it off without exhausting herself, and in a pinch Tonks could manage. I don't know the power levels of the others well enough to say, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were 2 or 3 others who could do it," Harry answered. "As to the details of the Mars jump, they're classified. I'm surprised Daphne knows."

"It was my project Potter, of course I know. And you're giving away classified details," she snapped. "I also know why Macmillan, Baddock and Caldwell are all on desk duty for the rest of their career," the dark haired woman stated.

"So you know that we need to take the time to make the calculations perfect, and then we can port," Harry stated calmly.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked.

"Classified," Daphne insisted with a superior smile.

"Now, since we've established that we're not getting off this ship before we get where we're going, let's address the more immediate business," Harry redirected the conversation. "I have a guard posted at each of the unopened doors. We need to decide, as a collective, if we're going to try to open them. I'm of the opinion that we should open them one at a time. I also believe that at least one of the doors will lead to the engineering section, for lack of a better term, and I'm not comfortable with anyone, my people or yours, poking around in there."

"That sounds reasonable," Hermione admitted suspiciously, "for now."

"I concur," Daphne stated. "I believe that the three of us should check them out together."

"I would prefer that one of my teams clear the rooms first," Harry stated.

"And I would prefer to not be here," Daphne countered, "You can't always get what you want."

"I'm not comfortable with your teams clearing the rooms without our supervision. Who knows what you might hide from the rest of us," Hermione stated. "I'm still not certain this isn't all some elaborate ruse."

"I'm concerned about the safety of everyone on board and your people lack the training to safely clear the room and frankly so do you. I want my people to secure the room and continue to guard any essential or dangerous areas," Harry stated.

"We will not be restricted as to where we can go, just because you say it's dangerous" Hermione railed remembering the comment about Ron.

"Listen Hermione," Harry growled, "If I deem it necessary for the safety of my Aurors, I'll stun every one of you, feed you draft of living death and stow you in a locked and warded privy until I deem that the threat has passed." Taking a deep breath, he calmed his voice, "I'm trying to be diplomatic in dealing with this issue together, but when it comes down to it, if I feel that our safety is in danger, I will do whatever I have to and there's not a fucking thing you can do about it. Now grow up, recognize the reality of your situation and let's work this out like reasonable people."

"Subtlety is not your strong suit, Potter," Daphne observed.

Harry locked his gaze on hers, "Fair warning then, I'm more likely to just kill you if you get in my way, as I don't have a decade of fond memories to prevent me from doing something rash when I look at you. All I remember about you is a bitchy little girl who ran away during the siege of Hogwarts."

"That won't be necessary, Potter, I will defer to you in issues of our safety provided you continue to include me and I guess Granger in what you might consider a joint command," Daphne replied tightly.

"Excellent, we're in agreement," Harry said. "Now, can we agree that one of my fire teams will clear each room while we three wait just outside the door? As soon as the room is clear, my team will leave and we will investigate. Is that an acceptable compromise?"

"That will be fine," Daphne agreed.

"Yes," Hermione concurred quietly.

"Now, should we clear the rooms on the lower deck first or the room on this deck?" Harry asked.

"Clear the lower decks first. We can block off the upper decks and survive if necessary, and I think it's more likely that the threat will be up here if there is one," Hermione answered. "Like you said, at least one of the rooms is going to be some sort of Engineering or Maintenance room and thus unlikely to contain a threat."

"Let's go," Harry stated a dart of silver energy flying from the tip of his suddenly drawn wand. Seeing the looks the women were giving him he explained, "I am having a security team meet us."

The trio arrived at the closed room closest to the lift a moment later and found three Aurors waiting for them. Seeing the makeup of the team was Dennis Creevey, Greg Goyle and Astoria Greengrass, he quirked his eyebrow as he was quite sure that Astoria was on a different fire team than the others.

"Sorry sir, we're spread a little thin, what with guarding the other doors and watching the civvies in the control room," Goyle answered the unasked question.

Harry didn't believe the explanation for a moment. Catching the tiny blond powerhouses' eyes, he heard her voice echoing in his mind, "Don't trust my sister." He nodded slightly indicating that he understood.

"So, how are we going to open the door?" Daphne asked oblivious to the byplay.

"I suggest we attempt do it without magic if possible. We have no idea how these electronics will react to spell work," Hermione pointed out.

"Agreed," Harry stated. "Does anybody see a mechanism to open the door?"

"No sir. The other doors all open by proximity, these did not, and we were unable to manually force them open," Goyle reported.

"There is an access panel, but it contains a bunch of unlabeled crystals and some wiring sir," Dennis Creevey stated. "I might be able to unlock the door, but it will take a while and a lot of trial and error."

"Do any of your people have experience with electronics?" Harry asked Hermione and Daphne.

"Terry Boot and maybe Seamus," Hermione answered.

"Corner, if anybody, but I doubt it," Daphne replied.

Five minutes later Corner and Seamus both indicated that they would be of no help while Dennis, Terry and Hermione began working to solve open the door.

The trio had been working on opening the door for half an hour while Harry, Astoria, Greg and Daphne stood watching when Daphne broke the silence.

"How long are we going to stand here waiting for them before we just open the door with magic?" the dark haired woman asked.

"We're stuck on this ship for 18 days, I've got guards posted on all the doors and the rest of the ship is clear, so I figure if they haven't made any progress in two days, we'll open the door with magic," Harry answered.

Daphne huffed and stalked off, "get me when the door is opened."

"That's not a bad idea," Harry observed, his mind still occupied with Astoria's warning. He summoned the rest of Dennis and Greg's team, Justin Finch-Fletchley and George Weasley and when they arrived ordered, "If you open the door, do not breach, call for back up and hold."

"Yes sir," George answered for his team, conjuring a bright orange recline and sitting down for what looked to be a long wait.

"Maybe work on your decorum as well, Captain Weasley," Harry added. George smiled and gave a half-hearted salute in reply.

Guard duty for the door handled, he turned his attention to other matters, namely small magically adept blonds, in this case Astoria Greengrass. "Walk with me," He ordered and headed towards the upper deck.

The pair walked in silence until they reached the small dining area. After verifying they were alone, Harry raised several privacy wards. "Explain."

"My sister cannot be trusted, Harry," Astoria repeated.

"I'm going to need a bit more than that, Tori," Harry replied, "we have to live with these people for the foreseeable future, weeks if not months."

"She's ruthlessly ambitious, Harry. She'll do anything, sacrifice anything or anyone if she thinks it will benefit her in some way," the blond shouted.

"Tori, talk to me," Harry said tenderly, taking her hand in his.

"You know why I joined up," she asked.

Harry nodded, "In broad strokes; I know that you enlisted to avoid a marriage contract to Draco Malfoy, but I'm not sure of the details, or even how that really works."

"The details aren't really important, the key thing is that taking the Auror service oath negated the contract," she explained. "The point though is that after my parents died, Daphne took over my guardianship. Just before I was going to turn 17, she arranged the contract for me. In return for me becoming a Malfoy brood mare, she would have gotten 30,000 galleons bride price and undisclosed information about prominent politicians." Astoria looked at Harry, her eyes blazing with anger, "that bitch sold me for some fucking money and blackmail material so she could advance her career."

"It's okay Tori," Harry comforted the girl, pulling her into a hug.

"I just wish," the girl began.

"I know," he cut her off; "but not while you're under my command."

"The minister sent us to die..." she trailed off. "Not now, right," she finished bitterly.

"Listen, Tori," Harry began.

"No, it's alright Harry," she replied.

"No, it's not alright. Let's get off the ship and see where we stand. You've been patient for this long, you can you wait 3 more weeks can't you?"

"But when we get home..."

"When we get home, I'll be off of active duty. I'm supposed to be off active duty now," Harry said.

"You love running the team; what happened?" she asked.

"Commandant Marsh is retiring in a year, they want to install me as an instructor at the academy so I can take over when he retires," Harry explained.

"They didn't give you a choice, did they?" she stated shrewdly.

"No, it was take the 'promotion' or they'd put Dawlish in charge of the team and give me Diagon Alley Patrol with some greenies," Harry answered.

"We'd mutiny," she exclaimed.

"That's why I took it, because the minister was counting on your reactions," Harry replied. "My contract is up before I take over, even if this weren't a breach, I was considering going merc."

"No fraternization policy for mercs," Astoria pointed out.

"No; no there's not."


	2. Interlude 1: Luna Lovegood reporting

Interlude: Luna Lovegood Reporting

**Muggles kidnap New Guard**

What was supposed to be a negotiation between the Free Magic League and the Ministry of Magic to end the researcher strike became a mass kidnapping facilitated by the Minister himself.

When the quorum of 13 wizards and witches gathered together, none of them anticipated anything but a good faith sit down with the Minister. But when the Portkey triggered they were not transported the ministry as they had expected. Instead, they arrived in a large non-descript room with no windows and a single sealed door. They found themselves facing the wands of an elite Auror battalion led by none other than Harry Potter.

Suspecting the worst, Hermione Granger, spokesperson for FML and onetime best friend of Major Potter confronted the Aurors about the ministerial duplicity. It quickly became apparent, however, that the Aurors were also confused as to their arrival and location.

This confusion was compounded by the arrival of several ministerial workers headed by Wizengamot member and rumored unspeakable Daphne Greengrass.

It was when Greengrass, Granger and Potter had come to a détente that the insidious mastermind behind the plot revealed himself, by way of an audio message, as a Muggle.

The mastermind then proceeded in a classic Bond villain manner, informing Major Potter that there was concern amongst a group of Muggles that they would be unable to control the assembled witches and wizards as easily as they had been controlling generations past. As bazaar as the situation and revelation were, the most surreal twist was yet to come.

Somehow, it seems, Muggles have gained the ability for interstellar travel and had stranded the 34 involved witches and wizards on board a space ship on a one way journey to the other side of the galaxy.

On a personal note, I am aware of the previous reputation that the Quibbler and I had for reporting stories that were not backed up by fact; however, in the past several years I like to think that my reputation as an investigative journalist would bear stringent scrutiny. Still had I not lived through the events as described I would not believe them myself. As I have no idea if we will ever return or even if this submission will reach the printing press, this is goodbye for now.

What follows is a list of the witches and wizards who have been jettisoned from planet Earth so their families may know what happened to them:

Aurors:

Major Harry Potter, Captain N. Tonks, Captain George Weasley, Lt. Susan Bones, Lt. Padma Patil, Lt. Greg Goyle, Lt. Neville Longbottom, 2Lt Angelina Johnson, 2Lt Astoria Greengrass, 2Lt Dennis Creevey, 2Lt Justin Finch-Fletchley, 2Lt Mandy Brocklehurst and 2Lt Lee Jordan

Free Magic League:

Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Terry Boot, Hannah Abbott, Marcus Belby, Charity Burbage, Aurora Sinistra, Seamus Finnegan, Parvati Patil, Anthony Goldstein, Samantha Hale, Orla Quirke, and Rolf Scamander.

Ministry Employees: 

Millicent Bulstrode, Miles Bletchley, Percy Weasley, Penelope Clearwater, Michael Corner, Marietta Edgecombe and Daphne Greengrass

Merlin Help us all.


	3. Chapter 3

The world suddenly blurred for a split second around Harry and Astoria.

"I've got to go," Harry explained to Astoria.

"I know," the blond smiled, "any orders sir?"

"Gather everyone not on guard duty, keep people calm. Don't go crazy, but I'm authorizing you to capture and detain if necessary." A silver streak of light struck him, "I'll be on the bridge, the natives are getting restless," Harry finished.

Harry had just arrived on the main deck when he heard shouting and saw the distinct red flare of a stunner coming from the bridge. Breaking into a run, his wand slipped into his hand automatically. He arrived to see Ron and Seamus standing, wands drawn on one side of the room with Lee Jordan down and Neville, Susan and Mandy, standing protectively over him ready for a fight.

"Aurors stand down," Harry barked walking quickly into the room. Reluctantly, the trio lowered their wands. Turning towards Ron and Seamus, he inclined his head, "if you gentlemen would lower your wands?"

"Not until…" Ron began.

Whatever conditions he wished to impose would remain unknown as with Ron's first syllable Harry sprung into action; violently blasting both men into the wall behind them, disarming and then binding them in chains.

"Now, please tell me what's going on," Harry asked, sedately turning back to his Aurors.

"Something changed, Earth disappeared," Susan began, pointing towards the window that now showed a blue tinted tunnel of light surrounding the ship rather than the Earth or the stars. "Weasley started freaking out, said we needed to break the ship, stop it from leaving so we could get home. Lee tried to stop him when Finnegan stunned him from behind.

"Right, this changes things. Round up everyone and herd them onto the observation deck. We need to set some rules now, before somebody else gets the same bright idea and goes looking for the engine room," Harry commanded. With a flick of his wand, he gave the other captains the same orders.

"What about the locked doors," Susan asked.

"I doubt there's any danger, but to be safe, set some trip wards," Harry answered.

It was the work of only a couple of minutes and a few threats to gather everyone onto the observation deck, though most were at least mildly upset when Harry floated the still restrained and unconscious forms of Seamus and Ron into the room. He'd left the pair as they were as an object lesson to the others of what steps he would take if needed.

With just a few pointed glances the Aurors took positions around the edges of the rooms, subtlety surrounding the others.

"Now that we're all here," Harry began, drawing attention to himself and away from the other Aurors, "I can explain and we can work out some necessary details."

"What's the meaning of this Potter," Daphne demanded waving at the pair of bound wizards.

"We need to set some ground rules, and I figured a demonstration would be the best way to get everyone's attention," with a wave of his wand, Ron and Seamus were released and awakened. "Rule one; there will be no blindly pressing of buttons or destruction of equipment in an effort to somehow magically make it so we go home. As such, for the time being, the command center, bridge, or whatever you want to call it is off limits." Harry paused, staring sternly out at the assembled group, "Do we all understand the first rule?"

His question was met by less than enthusiastic agreement and a bunch of resentful glares. Shrugging, Harry continued, "Rule two, since we've only been on the ship for a few hours and we're already going stir crazy, everyone will have some assigned duties to perform," this met with slightly more approval than the first rule.

"Third, I don't want to have to be a totalitarian, so we need to decide on a small number of people to be in charge and set up a chain of command," Harry continued, "These leaders will be in charge of assigning your duties, sleeping arrangements, food and so on. I will be a member of whatever council representing the Aurors and I will hold the final say in matters of security and safety. Beyond that I will defer to whomever you select."

"What about opening the doors and studying the controls on the bridge and the things we may find in the locked compartments?" Terry Boot asked.

"I have no problem with that so long as it is done responsibly and safely; but I feel like that is a question that should be answered by whoever is selected for the leadership council," Harry answered.

"What about trying to find a way home?" Ron asked shooting Terry a scathing look.

"I do have some good news about that," Harry stated. "Recently I took part in a classified project run by the Department of Mysteries that proved that interplanetary travel by wizards was possible. We were successfully able to transport a group of wizards from Earth to Mars." Harry waited for the sudden chattering to die down before he continued, "now, the Arithmancy involved in doing so will take some time to work out, but first, we need deal with our more immediate issues."

"Right," Hermione stated. Stepping to the front of the room, she began organizing the election. Harry felt a wave of nostalgia as he pictured a 15 year old bushy haired witch taking much the same tone and stance when setting up O.W.L. revision schedules.

Leaving it to her, he stepped away towards the edge of the room only to be confronted by his former Astronomy professor.

"Surely you weren't suggesting that you have the power to transport us across the galaxy," Professor Sinistra stated.

"The way I understand it, is that all of the power is required to open the portal. Once it's created, the distance between the two points is irrelevant. Now, while the power required to open the portal is a lot, it's nothing that me or at least two of my Aurors can't handle." Harry explained.

"Are you absolutely certain that the distances involved don't matter?" Sinistra queried.

"Not absolutely certain; I was more guinea pig than part of the research team, why?" Harry asked curiously.

"Because I'm not certain you understand just how vast the disparity is in the distances between Earth and Mars and Earth and the other side of the galaxy," Sinistra replied. "Let me put it this way, the distance between Earth and Mars varies depending on their respective orbits, but is somewhere around .6 AU, or about 1/10000th of a light year. The distance between Earth and the other side of the galaxy is somewhere around 100,000 light years; that's 1 trillion times the distance. Do you think that might just make a difference?"

To that, Harry had no good answer.

"Harry," Hermione called, interrupting the unsettling conversation.

"I'll get back to you on that professor," he offered before turning to Hermione. "Yes?"

"Since you are representing the Aurors already, I was wondering if you think it fair that they vote for the other leadership positions," Hermione asked.

"What do you think," Harry deflected; a trick he'd learned worked well against Hermione.

"I think that they should have a voice aside from yours, as they may have opinions that you don't necessarily share, but I don't want to cause any sort of conflict of interest," the witch replied.

"I'm fine with them voting Hermione," Harry answered. "I'll encourage them to participate, but I will not go so far as to order them. If they are to vote, they'll do it of their own free will." Over her shoulder, Harry saw George Weasley, who had been listening to the conversation roll his eyes.

"We've all agreed to forgo voting," Tonks said, Susan by her side nodding her approval and demonstrating that, as always, his team was keeping an eye on him.

Hermione frowned, "Are you sure?"

"The Major listens to us and takes what we say seriously, we trust him," Susan added.

"Alright," Hermione agreed.

"We'll leave you to elect your representative," Tonks said.

"We will," Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes sir," the currently purple streaked blond captain insisted.

"I guess we will," Harry acquiesced, it was only then that he realized that he was surrounded by his entire team.

"Explain," Harry ordered once the group had secured themselves in the upper deck mess.

"There are a couple of things, Harry," Tonks began stressing his name rather than his rank. Getting the message, he nodded for her to proceed. "The way things are looking, we're going to be stuck together with these people for months or more barring a miracle."

"Your point?" Harry pressed.

"You're being a heavy handed asshole," Tonks accused. "We're backing you, because that's what we do, but you need to ease up and realize that they're all victims of circumstance even more than we are; they didn't even get the minimal warning that we got. One moment they're heading to negotiations or going about their work day and the next they're kidnapped."

"Do you want me to make an apology?" Harry asked.

"Hell no, they weren't handling things any better and needed the firm hand," Neville stated with a nod. "What we're saying is that you've established your authority, show them that we're all on the same side."

"I was already planning to do so, but I'm glad you guys spoke up," Harry admitted. "What else did you want to tell me?"

"As the highest ranking officer available we needed to inform you that we all resign our commissions," Susan stated.

Looking around at the group, he saw each of his team member's nod their heads.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Several reasons; First, after betraying us like this, the ministry cannot be trusted," Padma started.

"Second, we can hardly be party to the revolution that Muggle was afraid of if we represent the very corrupt system we intend to topple," George continued, theatrically rubbing his hands together with a sadistic look of glee on his face.

"Third, we assumed you'd come to the same conclusion and would be going merc," Tonks picked up. "We want in."

"Forth, so you can quit hiding behind fucking regulations," Neville finished, shooting his eyes from Harry to Astoria and back.

"Do you guys all know about my personal business?" Harry demanded.

"Pretty much," Greg admitted. "We're better able to keep you out of trouble if we know everything about you. Even then, you still manage to get us into some damn strange situations. Pure self interest and not us acting like a bunch of gossipy hens, I assure you."

"I'm touched," Harry said dryly.

Shaking his head to clear it in the silence that follows, Harry turned his attention to his what needed to be done. "First, I accept all of your resignations, the moment we get back to Earth, until then I have determined that it serves our mission objective best to pretend that we are all Mercenaries. No sense in missing out all the hazard and back pay we'll earn in the meantime."

The group cheered, causing him to smile.

"Now, since our command structure is no longer dictated by political pull, I have some organizational changes. George, you are hereby busted down to the rank of Lieutenant," the redhead smiled in relief. "Greg, you're promoted to Captain." the muscular man nodded in acceptance. "I'm also reshuffling the teams. Tonks, George, Angelina and Lee, team 1; Susan, Padma, Justin, Mandy, team 2; Greg, Neville, Dennis, Astoria, team 3."

"Anything else?" Angelina asked.

"Yes, as a merc we'd no longer have fraternization policies," Harry stated. "If you feel you will not be able to perform your duties properly should you find yourself in command of or under the command of your partner, we will shuffle the teams to accommodate; within reason. Questions?"

"Seems like you're as aware of our secrets as we are of yours," George commented, shooting a meaningful look at Tonks.

"It's part of being the boss," Harry explained. "If there's nothing else, we should get back, I'm pretty sure they have selected the civilian leader by now."

"Are congratulations or condolences more appropriate Aurora?" Harry asked the newly appointed civilian leader and Astronomy professor.

Ignoring the barb, the woman began, "we need to arrange sleeping quarters, food and duties along with deciding what we are going to do about the locked doors, studying the ship and the controls and any other research that may let us go home."

"To business then," Harry nodded. "My team and I are at your disposal. They'll follow your orders so long as they don't countermand my own." The witch nodded, the tightness in her eyes loosening at his gesture of cooperation.

"So far as the logistics of setting up sleeping quarters, I'd recommend Percy, Hermione or Padma. As to food, I think Seamus and Greg could handle that," Harry suggested.

"Very well," Sinistra agreed, making some notes on a conjured scroll. "I would like to continue to have Terry, Dennis and Hermione continue to work on opening the doors. Any objections to that?"

"Not an objection, so much as an urging of caution," Harry answered. "I don't think there's some hidden assassin or deadly creature in any of the rooms, but I have been thinking on why some doors might be sealed."

"Have you reached any conclusions?" Aurora questioned.

"Well, I spend a fair amount of time in the Muggle world and so far as I knew before today, they didn't have the technology necessary to travel across the galaxy. That suggests to me that any ships that are capable of doing so would be rare; not a resource lightly wasted," he explained.

"Go on," she prompted, interested.

"So the only reason I can come up with that they would expend that resource on kidnapping us is that the ship is broken or dangerous somehow," Harry continued.

"That would certainly be in keeping with the Muggles desire to see us kill ourselves," the witch admitted. "What do you suggest we do?"

"I think that with some precautions, we should still try opening the doors. I'd still like to avoid using magic to do so and I wouldn't want to open the door without being able to seal it again very quickly. The things that I think we should prepare for as much as we can are hull breaches and radiation," Harry stated.

"Agreed," Aurora stated. "Why am I in charge if you've already thought this all out so rationally?"

"People already resent and distrust me," Harry stated. "I don't even blame them really. But we need to work together since we're going to be stuck together for what's looking like quite a while, and for that, there needs to be a civilian counterbalance to my military bearing."

"Very well, do you have objections to my putting together a research team to study the controls on the bridge?" Aurora pressed.

"Not so long as you or they are relatively certain of what will happen before you press any buttons," Harry stated, "I mean, I know accidents happen and everything, but it goes back to the voice and the idea that the ship is dangerous or unstable."

"That's reasonable; do you believe that a guard is necessary?" She asked.

"I won't lie, I'd be more comfortable if one of my people was at least involved if not on the research team," Harry admitted.

"I'll take that under advisement. Unless there's something else that can't wait, it's getting late and there's much to arrange," Aurora stated.

"There is one other thing, Luna Lovegood. I'd like to interview everyone on board; call it a human interest piece, but I think she can give us some insight into how people are dealing," Harry stated. "Depending on how long we're here, I think that having her act as a sounding board, sympathetic ear and councilor for everyone would also be helpful in the long run."

"That's fine. I'm going to get Percy and Hermione working on sleeping quarters, and Seamus and Greg working on dinner. You talk to Lovegood," Aurora stated.

"Yes ma'am," Harry answered.

Harry found the blond reporter sitting on the floor in the large room they had arrived in trying to interview the Muggle who had trapped them all despite the fact that he was not replying.

"Hello Harry," Luna greeted him, looking up from her notepad.

"Hello Luna, how are you?" he asked politely, sliding down the wall to sit next to her on the floor.

"I am frustrated by Mr. Master Mind's refusal to comment," she replied. Harry smiled at the nom-de-guerre.

"I've come to ask you for a favor," he stated.

"Do you want to have sex?" Luna asked.

"Not right now," he answered.

"Good, as I am frequently sleeping with Rolf and having multiple lovers at the same time might be uncomfortable," she declared, before her eyes suddenly widened and her gaze grew distant. "Are you sure you don't want to have sex?" She asked faintly.

"I'm sure Luna," Harry replied.

"Oh poo," the blond pouted.

"I was wondering if you would be willing to interview everyone on board and write a profile about each of them," Harry said.

"Is this for you or for publication," Luna countered.

"Well, since I can't get a copy of the Quibbler here, I was hoping you'd give me a copy; I think that it would be a nice human interest story for publication as well," Harry explained.

"So you aren't asking me to be your spy," Luna pressed.

"Well, maybe, just a bit," Harry admitted causing the blond to smile.

"I can do that," she declared.

"That's great, thank you Luna," Harry said.

"I know," Luna agreed.

"If I might impose on you a bit further," Harry started; seeing her hopeful look he amended, "not for sex."

"Foreplay?" She questioned hopefully.

"No, I was hoping that for as long as we're out here, you would act as a sympathetic ear, sort of a councilor that anyone can talk to." She nodded. "I would hope that in this capacity that you would keep the people's confidences unless there was an imminent threat to the ship or the crew."

"Of course, Harry," Luna said with a smile that he returned.

Standing up, the blond conjured a set of pointy rubber ears and slipped them on, "Fascinating."

"You'll always be one of a kind," Harry stated.


	4. Interlude 2

Interlude 2: Luna Lovegood Reporting

**The Life and Times of Gregory Goyle**

"When people look at me, all they see is my father and my supposed legacy," Gregory Goyle said when describing his life. "But that's not who I am."

Born in London, Gregory, or Greg to his few close friends, had a troubled childhood. Raised as close as twins with his best friend Vincent Crabbe, the boys were shunted from home to home depending on which parent was in Azkaban at the time.

"By the time I was 11 my parents had managed to impart little knowledge or morals in me; all I knew when I got on the Hogwarts Express for the first time was that Vince was my best friend, Purebloods were superior to everyone else and that I was to listen to and obey Draco Malfoy no matter what."

Not much changed for Greg over next six years.

"It wasn't really until the war started that I began to question my role."

With Headmaster Snape and the Carrows in charge of Hogwarts, the schoolyard bullying and jockeying for position took a different tone.

"It wasn't like trying to trip somebody in the hall or get them in trouble with a professor. They were out to hurt and kill anyone who didn't fit with their narrow view of the world. It made me uncomfortable, but I didn't know why."

As the situation deteriorated, Greg's crisis of conscience became dangerous.

"Headmaster Snape pulled me aside one day and told me that thoughts like mine would get me killed. I'm not really sure if he was encouraging me to be careful or threatening me. It was always hard to understand his motivations."

Warning in mind, Greg kept his opinions to himself and watched.

"I'd been taught all my life that I was better than the Muggle-born and half bloods; but how could that be true, I decided, when they were obviously better wizards and witches than I was?" Greg recounted. "So if that wasn't true, then were the people I was told to look up to and emulate as great witches and wizards, like the Malfoys, really great, or was it all just a lie?"

Everything came to a head before Greg was able to make a decision when Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley infiltrated Hogwarts in search of Ravenclaw's diadem.

"Vince, Draco and I caught them in the Room of Requirement. We were supposed to take them alive, but Vince…he wasn't the man I grew up with, my brother in all but blood."

Vincent Crabbe cast Fiendfire in an attempt to kill the three, unwittingly destroying the very artifact they had come to destroy and taking his own life.

"They saved us, even after we'd tried to stop them, kill them, they saved us. That's when I knew I had been on the wrong side."

When the war was over, Greg managed to barely finish Hogwarts scoring a single N.E.W.T. in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"I didn't have a very good education, and my name and association with the Malfoy's only made things worse. I had a small inheritance as the last living relation of Bartemius Crouch, but it was nowhere near enough to support me for a lifetime. I had a choice, I could go the way people expected and become a mirror image of my father, a crook and a drunk, or I could put everything I had into making a better life for myself."

Greg invested his inheritance in magical tutors and spent the next 18 months studying before utilizing the Ministries second chance program and retaking his N.E.W.T.'s

"I did pretty well, I think. It was enough, academically, to get me accepted into the Aurors. But it looked like my past was going to close that door on me again, when Harry Potter, of all people, spoke on my behalf."

Major Potter had this to say when asked why he spoke on Greg's behalf: "It was obvious that he was trying to change, to be better. Why should he be denied a chance to do that?"

In a follow up question, Major Potter was asked if he regretted speaking up.

"Not for one single second. Greg is an excellent Auror and should be an Auror Captain. Unfortunately, he was determined to be a political liability and thus was not able fairly to advance through the ranks. Despite this, never once has he complained; and never once has he shirked his duties. He is the single most committed Auror I have ever served with."

That is quite a compliment as Major Potter served both with Auror legend Alastor Moody for a time as well as Auror and former Minister for Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt."

Asked about his life since joining the Aurors, Greg replied that most of the details of his service were either mundane or classified. When pressed about a personal life, Greg had the following to say.

"I don't need a life outside of the Aurors; they're my family. I'm the luckiest guy in the world because I get paid to spend time with my family."

Having spoken at length with Major Potter and the other Aurors in Greg's unit, not once did anyone but bring up his past or say a bad word about this fine young man, who I'm told earned a field promotion during this mission to Auror Captain.


End file.
